“When I started asking around for creative agencies, I got a referral from a friend who said that B Storytelling was not only great, but they were creatives on a mission. It was clear from the start that they weren’t just going to do a great job because they’re good at this. Even from my first phone call with Julie, it was always, ‘We’re going to turn out the best product we can because we believe in your mission.’”
– Nathan Sokol-Margolis, Former Head of Middle School at Meridian Academy
Can you imagine liking middle school? 😱 Yeah, we couldn’t either – until we met the team at Meridian Academy.
Meridian Academy is an independent private school for sixth through twelfth graders located just outside of Boston, an area well-known for its prestigious academic institutions. So while they’re in good company, they’ve also got some stiff competition for students.
Unlike some of those other longer-standing institutions, we couldn’t help but fall in love with their mission and values – not to mention the incredible community, from faculty and staff to students and parents. Meridian is so unique because not only are they committed to a rigorous curriculum, they also care about equity and inclusion, creative learning and problem-solving, and fostering independence and accountability. We jumped at the chance to collaborate.
Here’s what we did:
2021 Recruitment Campaign
We handled a top-to-bottom recruitment campaign for incoming sixth graders built around belonging called “Be Seen, Be Heard, Be You” with the call-to-action to “Become an involved citizen at Meridian Academy.” The first part included discovery, strategy, and concepting, during which we hosted stakeholder interviews across every part of their community (yup, students too) as well as two visioning workshops. Hearing from the community was essential to the creative process, and the photo shoot we produced was a tremendous experience for everyone involved.
Phase two was all about execution: we developed key messages for both print and digital design to be distributed across their website and social channels, plus Boston subways, buses, and billboards. We’re still so hyped even just talking about it! There’s really nothing like seeing your work up in the sky larger-than-life, and we loved hearing that seeing our work out in the wild added an extra layer of school pride and satisfaction for both students and faculty alike.
But…did they meet their recruitment goals? Yup, we knocked it out of the park. 🧢⚾
“Julie and her team got us. Boston is flooded with independent schools and their ads all look the same. B Storytelling created a way more dynamic campaign. It felt alive, real, and true to Meridian’s mission of being a lively community that works together.” – Nathan Sokol-Margolis
2022 Recruitment Campaign
Turns out, the Meridian community loved what we did so much that they wanted us to come back for more. This past year, we worked together to up the ante for both their print and digital assets – check it out:
Print: we created a brand new double billboard for a high-traffic area of Boston, plus 150 subway ads, 150 bus interior ads, and 150 bus exterior ads that were featured on major commuter lines throughout the city, alongside a QR code for all printed ads to support and track email and info session sign-ups.
We also developed a banner to bolster their in-person efforts at farmers markets and other community events.
Digital: Here’s where it gets extra juicy. That QR code goes right to a campaign-branded landing page for students and parents to sign up for information sessions and Meridian’s newsletter list. We also designed 10 digital cross-channel ads, as well as a sparkly new email template, since it’s one of Meridian’s most important and active channels.
Did we handle the copywriting, imagery selection and key messaging for all of the above? Yes, yes we did. *brushes shoulder off*
“Educational institutions are realizing that if they want to stay around for the next 100+ years, they actually need to rethink their messaging and the way they present themselves. They don’t want to be all-white, all-wealthy institutions because, turns out, those institutions are not great.” – Nathan Sokol-Margolis
It brought us so much joy to bring Meridian Academy’s story to life—and to invite new people into their community. Our goal is to make your communications a strategic, creative, and fun process.
Looking to build your brand in 2023? We’re here to tell the world how great you are. Get in touch!